The national conference of the CWA was held in Armidale from the 30 April to 5 May and featured performances by NECOM students. The New England Singers performed at the official opening of the conference and were commended by the NSW State Governor David Hurley on their outstanding performance. The evening, a student-led string quartet (Shah Biffin, Isla Biffin, Jonathan Bruhl and Randall Bollenhagen) performed at the opening cocktail party at NERAM.